I am overjoyed that The Pleasures of God is here in a new edition. You can order the book, DVD and study guide, all for $10 total. [Note: This special is no longer available.]

Here’s how I would describe it. First, compare it with its older cousin, Desiring God.

Desiring God is about our glad experience of God. The Pleasures of God is about God’s glad experience of God. Desiring God argues that the essence of man’s virtue and worship consists in our delight in God. The Pleasures of God argues that the essence of God’s virtue and worship consists in his delight in God. Yes, God worships: He infinitely prizes and delights in the single Object of infinite worth—God. He is not an idola…

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Being “in Christ Jesus” is a stupendous reality. It is breathtaking what it means to be in Christ. United to Christ. Bound to Christ. If you are “in Christ” listen to what it means for you:

1. In Christ Jesus you were given grace before the world was created. 2 Timothy 1:9, “He gave us grace in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”
2. In Christ Jesus you were chosen by God before creation. Ephesians 1:4, “God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.”
3. In Christ Jesus you are loved by God with an inseparable love. Romans 8:38–39, “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in …

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Because of the amazing mercy of God described in Psalm 106 we can cry out with hope, “O Lord, help me when you save your people” (verse 4). And what does he help us do? Obtain the fullest blessing of God: “Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!” (verse 3).

So what acts of justice and righteousness in the cause of Christ-exalting life can we do?

In my sermon last Sunday (January 22, 2012), I answered with five words: Supplication, Consideration, Education, Legislation, and Proclamation. I promised I would try to unpack them more fully. Here goes.

Supplication

It was years of prayer-filled action that brought an end to abortions at Regions Hospit…

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J. C. Ryle’s strategy to reverse the destructive effects of drunkenness point to possibilities in our battle against abortion.

Ryle was the first Bishop of Liverpool, England, starting in 1880 and ending with his death in 1900. He found that one of the great destroyers of family and society was drunkenness. There were 2,402 drinking houses in the city in 1884. One for every 229 inhabitants.

His strategy to change this was “an amalgam of preaching and social aid.” He urged the preachers of his town to “boldly denounce the great sin of the day.” And he lent his voice and energy to numerous reforms (like alternative evening amusements, women’s shelters, non-alcoholic coffee bars, and licen…

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We are children of the light. Abortion is a work of darkness. The apostle Paul said, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).

Our aim, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, through the authority of his word, is to glorify God by making much of his image in the unborn, and his mercy in forgiving sinners.

We would like to give you a free eBook based on three sermons I preached on abortion. We hope it helps you speak out. Please feel free to download it, print it, copy it, and share it with as many people as you like.

Here’s a sample sentence:

God is calling passive, inactive Christians today to engage…

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Psalm 135:1–6 —

Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord, give praise, O servants of the Lord, ² who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God! ³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant! ⁴ For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession. ⁵ For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. ⁶ Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

The psalm begins by calling us to praise the Lord: Praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord. Then, starting in verse 3 the psalmist gives us reasons for why we should feel praise rising in our hear…

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Bloodlines is one of the most autobiographical books I have written. It tells my story from racism to the path of redemption. I preached on the theme of Bloodlines yesterday to mark Martin Luther King weekend. The title of the message was “From Bloodlines to Bloodline.” I argued that God is calling his people to move from the alienation of many bloodlines to the reconciliation of the single bloodline that began on the cross of Christ.

I urged my people to read the book. Not because I care about selling books, but because I want them to know my story, to be aware to the global relevance of the issue, and to feel the hope that comes from the power of the gospel.

In making the book avai…

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You may have heard people vilify or extol the Puritans. J. I. Packer is among those who extol. Indeed, he thinks that this century of pastors was the greatest the church has ever known.

Some of us have found our souls richly fed by these 350-year old pastors. When we have needed spiritual food, we have found ourselves grazing in the Bible-saturated, heart-searching seventeenth century Puritans.

If you have ever wondered just who they were, here is Packer’s description and list:

[The Puritans are] a type of evangelical believer that emerged in the Church of England in the sixteenth century and reached its high peak of development in the seventeenth century in men like Richard Baxter…

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If you want to be inspired to pray in 2012 and don’t have time for a long book, Here is a short one.

Probably no book has had a greater effect on my prayer life in proportion to its size than E. M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer. It was the seed from which grew the tree, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals.

The preacher . .. is not a professional man; his ministry is not a profession; it is a divine institution, a divine devotion. (Location 55)

His passion is perhaps best expressed in this quote that he gives from William Wilberforce, a man of political action and great fruitfulness.

This perpetual hurry of business and company ruins me in soul if not in body. More solitude and earl…

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What should you do if you know someone who seems to be more excited about movies than Jesus?

Many professing Christians give little evidence of valuing Jesus more than the latest movie they have seen. Or the latest clothing they bought. Or the latest app they downloaded. Or the latest game they watched. Something is amiss.

We are not God and cannot judge with certainty and precision what’s wrong. There is a glitch somewhere. Perhaps a blindness going in, a spiritual deadness at heart, or a blockage coming out. Or some combination. Christ doesn’t appear supremely valuable. Or isn’t felt as supremely valuable. Or can’t be spoken of as supremely valuable. Or some combination.

Here’s my s…

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